Cornell Capital Holdings — Team Training & Scaling System

Foundation

The three layers you're actually scaling

Before you hire, you need to know what each person is actually responsible for. Most founders hire generalists and hope. The Family CFO model has three distinct layers — each requiring different skills, different training, and different people.

Layer 1

The Diagnostic

What creates the sale

→Run the Wealth Diagnostic and present findings

→Prescribe one path — no options, no over-explaining

→Close on timing, not interest

→Score 8/10+ on the 10-point call scorecard

→Current: Dana (primary), Ryan (in training)

Layer 2

The Architecture

What delivers the value

→Build and present the Wealth Rewired Blueprint™

→Run the 90-Day Priority Plan™ sprints

→Coordinate CPA, attorney, investment advisor

→Deliver all 5 core Family CFO deliverables on time

→Current: Gregg (implementation lead)

Layer 3

The Coordination

What keeps clients paying

→Own the client relationship post-onboarding

→Quarterly coordination calls — on time, every time

→Surface upsell and expansion opportunities

→Track deliverable completion and client satisfaction

→Current: Ryan (partial), Brandon (logistics)

Layer 4

The Network

What scales without Dana

→Manage the WAN advisor relationship

→Activate new advisors and drive referral cadence

→Build the B2B distribution channel systematically

→Report WAN pipeline and conversion monthly

→Target hire: Carey Fortnam (Director, Client Acquisition)

The Rule

Train people on process, not product. Your closers don't need to understand every nuance of the Tax Drag Ratio™. They need to know: "Here's what we found. Here's what it's costing you. Here's the one path. When do you want to start?" The training that produces revenue is diagnostic delivery training. Everything else is background knowledge.

Hiring

Who to hire and when — the exact trigger for each

Every hire should be triggered by a specific ARR milestone, not a feeling. Hire too early and you burn cash. Hire too late and you cap growth. This sequence is calibrated to the Family CFO model's unit economics.

Diagnostic Closer #2

Ryan Promoted / External Hire

Dana can close 8–10 diagnostics per month at capacity. When Ryan is certified and pipeline exceeds that, you need a second closer. Profile: financial services background, coachable, process-oriented, not a "pitch" personality.

Trigger: $500K ARR

WAN Account Manager

Carey Fortnam (Target)

Wholesaler background is ideal — understands advisor relationships, referral culture, and B2B sales cycles. Carey's comp structure is already modeled: $25K/month draw against 30%/20% commissions. Activate when WAN has 10+ advisors to manage.

Trigger: 10 WAN advisors

Implementation Analyst

Junior under Gregg

Gregg's bandwidth caps at ~12 active clients in implementation simultaneously. At $1.5M ARR you'll exceed that. The analyst handles data gathering, blueprint population, and calendar coordination — freeing Gregg for client-facing delivery and quality review.

Trigger: $1.5M ARR

Relationship Manager

Dedicated Retention Role

At 30+ active clients, quarterly calls and annual reviews become a full-time job. The RM owns retention, upsell identification, and the Board of Advisors calls. This role produces 40–60% of revenue growth through expansion without any new client acquisition cost.

Trigger: 30 active clients

Diagnostic Closer #3 + Pod 2

Second Pod Formation

When Pod 1 reaches 15–20 clients, form Pod 2. Each pod is one closer + one implementation lead + one RM. Pod 2's closer can be promoted internally or hired externally and trained through the Tier 1 certification program — which by this point should run itself.

Trigger: $3M ARR

Training System

Three tiers. Each with a certification gate.

No one touches a client until they're certified. Each tier builds on the last. Tiers 1 and 2 are sequential — Tier 3 is ongoing and role-specific.

Diagnostic Certification

For every person who touches a prospect — closers, shadow listeners, WAN manager

2–3 Weeks · All Client-Facing Roles

Week 1

Product Knowledge

Freedom Index™ — what it measures and why it matters

Tax Drag Ratio™ — the dollar translation

Capital Velocity Score™ — the growth/income gap

12 IAA diagnostic findings — overview, not depth

Family CFO Core™ — 5 deliverables explained simply

Pricing tiers — how to present, not justify

Week 2

Objection Mapping

"I already have an advisor" — scripted response

"What makes you different?" — three-sentence answer

"I need to think about it" — close on timing

"The fee seems high" — reframe to ROI

"Send me something to review" — handle without losing

"My spouse needs to be involved" — next step, not stall

Week 3

Mock Diagnostics

3× recorded mock diagnostic calls

Scored on 10-point call scorecard each time

Dana reviews recording and scores — written feedback

Debrief on each mock before the next one

Must score 8/10 on two consecutive mocks to certify

Failed gate: repeat Week 3 — no penalty, just process

🔒

Certification Gate: 8/10 minimum on two consecutive recorded mock diagnostics, scored by Dana using the 10-point scorecard. No client contact until gate is passed. No exceptions.

Architecture Fluency

For the delivery team — Gregg, implementation analysts, any RM who presents findings

4 Weeks · Delivery Team

Weeks 1–2

Tax Fluency (Client-Facing Level)

Entity structure — S-Corp, LLC, C-Corp in plain language

Compensation design — salary vs. distribution tradeoffs

Depreciation and cost segregation — what to say, not how to calculate

QBI deduction — who gets it and why it matters

Estate planning basics — trusts, titling, beneficiary structure

How to read a Complete Tax Architecture Analysis output

Weeks 3–4

Investment Fluency (Client-Facing Level)

Freedom Index™ calculation and presentation

Asset location — tax-deferred vs. taxable accounts

Sequence-of-returns risk — how to explain it simply

Capital Velocity Score™ — growth + income together

Blueprint construction — how to populate all 5 deliverables

90-Day Priority Plan™ — how to build, assign, and track

🔒

Certification Gate: Present a complete Wealth Rewired Blueprint™ for a mock client (provided by Dana) to the full team. Must explain every section without reading from notes and field 5 client-style questions. Graded pass/fail by Dana and Gregg jointly.

Coordination Operations

For Don, Brandon, and any ops hire — the machine that runs the delivery

Ongoing · Ops Team

SOPs Required (Build These First)

New client onboarding checklist (Day 1–30)

90-day sprint template with milestone dates

Advisor coordination protocol (who, when, what)

Blueprint delivery quality checklist

Client escalation path — when Dana sees it

Renewal and upsell trigger checklist

Ongoing Cadences

Weekly: pipeline + deliverable status review (30 min)

Monthly: client satisfaction check-in (NPS proxy)

Quarterly: full review of every active client file

Annually: advisor Board of Advisors coordination

Ad hoc: escalation protocol triggered within 24 hrs

Ongoing: CRM hygiene — every touchpoint logged

🔒

Certification Gate: Shadow three full client onboardings from intake to Blueprint delivery. Must independently run a mock onboarding sprint against the SOP checklist with zero missed steps. Recertify annually as SOPs evolve.

Certification Tool

Diagnostic call scorecard — 10 points

Used for every mock certification and recommended for the first five live calls per closer. Dana scores the recording. Written feedback required on every point below 1.

Diagnostic Delivery Scorecard 10 points total · 8/10 minimum to certify

1. Opening frame — Sets the agenda, controls the conversation from the first 60 seconds

0–1 pt

2. Discovery questions — Asks about income gap, lifestyle target, and current advisors before presenting anything

0–1 pt

3. Diagnostic delivery — Presents findings clearly, translates every index into a dollar amount the prospect can feel

0–1 pt

4. Income gap translation — States the exact monthly income gap and what it would take to close it

0–1 pt

5. Prescription — Recommends one specific program with no alternatives offered, no "it depends"

0–1 pt

6. Objection handling — Addresses objections without over-explaining, re-anchors to outcome, not features

0–1 pt

7. No over-explaining — Does not educate the prospect on financial concepts unprompted — stays in the prescription lane

0–1 pt

8. Close attempt — Explicitly asks for enrollment or next step — does not wait for the prospect to volunteer it

0–1 pt

9. Timing close — Closes on timing ("what's your reason to not start before [date]?"), not interest

0–1 pt

10. Next step confirmed — Ends with a specific, calendared next step — not "I'll follow up soon"

0–1 pt

Onboarding

90-day ramp plan — for every new hire

Every new hire regardless of role goes through a structured 90-day ramp. The milestones are non-negotiable. The pace can flex, but the gates cannot.

Days 1–30 · Learn the Model

●Read all foundational documents (USER.md, service architecture, pricing)

●Shadow 3 live diagnostic calls — listen only, no talking

●Shadow 2 full client onboardings — intake to Blueprint

●Complete Tier 1 Weeks 1–2 training curriculum

●Memorize the 6 proprietary indexes — explain each in one sentence

●Map every objection to its scripted response

●Weekly check-in with Dana — written reflection submitted before each

Day 30 Milestone: Pass product knowledge quiz (80%+). Begin mock diagnostics.

Days 31–60 · Earn Certification

●Complete Tier 1 Week 3 — all three mock diagnostic recordings

●Review Dana's written scorecard feedback before each subsequent mock

●Delivery team: begin Tier 2 Weeks 1–2 (tax fluency)

●Ops team: shadow Don/Brandon through one full client cycle

●WAN hire: attend 2 advisor relationship calls with Carey or Dana

●Build your own client-facing explanation of the Family CFO model — present to the team

●CRM access granted — begin logging shadowed touchpoints

Day 60 Milestone: Tier 1 certified (8/10+ on two consecutive mocks). First supervised live call.

Days 61–90 · Go Live

●Closer: run 3–5 live diagnostics with Dana listening (muted) and scoring

●Delivery: complete Tier 2 Weeks 3–4 and pass Blueprint presentation gate

●Ops: run first independent onboarding against SOP checklist — reviewed by Don

●WAN: independently manage 2–3 advisor relationships with weekly reporting

●All roles: document one process improvement or SOP gap per week

●Performance review at Day 90 — metrics, feedback, formal advancement or extension

●Comp structure activated at Day 90 if performance benchmarks are met

Day 90 Milestone: Operating independently. Commission / bonus structure fully active.

Scaling Roadmap

Five phases from first close to exit-ready

Each phase has a clear trigger, a clear team structure, and a clear outcome. Don't jump phases — every step builds the infrastructure for the next.

$0–$500K

ARR · Phase 1

Dana closes everything. Ryan shadows every call. No sales delegation.

This phase is about documenting the model — every objection, every close, every lost deal. Ryan is in Tier 1 training. Gregg owns all implementation. You are building the playbook that will train every future closer. Do not skip this — the temptation to delegate too early kills the model.

$500K–$1.5M

ARR · Phase 2

Ryan closes 30–40% of calls. Carey activated. WAN pipeline building.

Ryan is certified and running live diagnostics. Dana reviews every lost deal in writing. Carey (or equivalent) is managing 10+ WAN advisors and building referral cadence. Gregg still runs all implementation — but the implementation analyst hire is being planned. Monthly revenue is predictable enough to model Year 2.

$1.5M–$3M

ARR · Phase 3

Second closer hired. Dedicated RM. Implementation analyst under Gregg.

Three closers in market (Dana, Ryan, Closer #3). WAN generating 15–20% of new client volume. Relationship Manager owns all retention and quarterly calls — Dana no longer runs retention personally. Implementation is fully delegated. Dana's job is training closers, reviewing lost deals, and managing the advisor network strategy.

$3M–$6M

ARR · Phase 4

Dana steps back from closing. Pod 2 formed. You manage the system.

Pod model fully operational. Dana reviews dashboards — not client files. Two pods running at 15–20 clients each = 30–40 active clients total. WAN has 25+ advisors, generating a predictable monthly referral volume. Tax plan machine (Lacee + Ryan) is contributing $200K–$500K/month to top line. This is when the exit conversation starts.

$6M+

ARR · Phase 5

Three to four pods. Operator-independent. 12× ARR exit conversation begins.

Each pod: one closer + one implementation lead + one RM, serving 15–20 clients. You are the CEO — not the top performer. Revenue is recurring, documented, and predictable. Churn is below 10%/year. An RIA rollup buyer sees a system, not a person. At $6M ARR, the 12× multiple puts enterprise value at $72M. This is the finish line.

Scale Unit

The pod — your unit of scale

At $3M ARR you stop scaling people and start scaling pods. Each pod is self-contained — it acquires, delivers, and retains clients without Dana's involvement. This is what makes the business operator-independent at exit.

Pod Structure (Per Pod) 15–20 active clients · $360K–$480K ARR per pod

Diagnostic Closer

Acquisition · Layer 1

Runs all Wealth Diagnostics for new prospects

Closes Family CFO Core™ engagements

Targets 6–8 new clients/month at capacity

Reports close rate, avg. deal size, pipeline weekly

Comp: base + 15% on new ARR generated

Implementation Lead

Delivery · Layer 2

Owns the 90-day sprint for every new client

Builds and presents the Wealth Rewired Blueprint™

Coordinates CPA, attorney, investment advisor

Manages all 5 Family CFO deliverables on time

Comp: salary + quarterly delivery bonus

Relationship Manager

Retention · Layer 3

Owns all client communication post-onboarding

Runs quarterly coordination calls (2–4/year)

Identifies upsell and tier upgrade opportunities

Tracks satisfaction — flags churn risk early

Comp: salary + 10% on expansion revenue

Why the pod model is the exit

An RIA rollup buyer pays 12× ARR for systems, not people. When your revenue is generated by a repeatable pod structure — not by Dana personally — the multiple holds. The moment the buyer believes your revenue depends on the founder staying, the multiple compresses to 6–8×. The pod model is the difference between a $45M exit and an $84M exit on the same revenue.